Looking for DIY support for Peas and Beans

Looking for DIY support for Peas and Beans

Sat May 23, 2015 4:58 am

I am so behind in my gardening!! Today I rushed out determined to get some seeds in the ground. I have 4' x 8' raised beds. I planted some Hutterite beans in one box and made short little rows (following the 4' ends) instead of long 8' rows. Afterwards I realized that I should have planned how I was going to support them first. Oops.

I have lots of different types of stakes, bamboo, plastic, woods etc. Please share with me your ideas for easy to make support for beans.

I also have some Kelvadon Pea seeds which I know should have been planted earlier. Is it too late to plant them? If not should I plant them in circles or rows to make it easy to support them? Thanks so much

Re: Looking for DIY support for Peas and Beans

Sat May 23, 2015 10:37 am

Nearly always, I use teepee type supports for pole beans. One by two boards, about 80" long, so I don't have to climb too high to drive them in at an angle with the sledgehammer. They can be wired together near the top.

If your seedlings need support between the poles, string can be tied pole-to-pole about 12" above the ground. If they need higher support than those 80" poles provide, and they probably will, the vines will just grow to the top and turn around and come back down. That's okay. I will also tie the teepees together with a horizontal one by two board wired on at the top.

Kelvadon Peas are described by Thompson and Morgan as good for succession sowings as late as June. My pea trellis construction is flimsier than the teepee for beans but really could be exactly the same. I use two crossed poles and the high horizontal one joining each set of two along the bed. Horizontal cross boards, the width of the bed and about every 12", complete with wood frames. Twine running from cross board to cross board give the rows of peas something to start on. They soon tie everything together. With 4' wide beds, it's a little difficult reaching in to pick the peas but doable. Three foot width would be easier.

Stevewho may be able to find some pictures, later today

A conclusion is simply the place where a person got tired of thinking.

Re: Looking for DIY support for Peas and Beans

Sat May 23, 2015 1:17 pm

We plant Oregon Sugar Pod II snow peas which get about 5 feet high. This year since we had fencing from another project, we've just placed some fencing along the rows of peas held by posts (wooden stakes or whatever you have that works) every 3 feet or so along the line. The fencing has 2" by 3" spaces in it which is enough for me to get my hands through if I need to pick on one side or the other.

The previous year we did something similar to what Steve did.

Just be sure whatever you make is tall enough for your peas. Once year we were too short and that made a mess as the tops of the plants fell over and made picking though the "jungle" quite a challenge....lol

Re: Looking for DIY support for Peas and Beans

Sat May 23, 2015 11:54 pm

I use 2 ft rebar driven into the soil and bamboo poles driven unto the rebar. I can get bamboo easily and 2 inch bamboo will easily be impaled on rebar. I use string or trellis netting if the beans are going to be tall.

However if I am lazy. I have folding tomato trellises that I can open up to a fence and I use that and bamboo or rebar stakes for the bean trellis. I don't grow more than 9 or ten bean plants. It provides more than I need.

If I am not planting tomatoes I can also plant peas in my tomato pots they have a permanent CRW cages.

I could plant beans in the tomato pots, but I would have one less tomato. They don't do that well together since both of them occupy the same space on the trellis and they both have fungal issues if they don't get enough air circulation. I can plant green onions under the tomatoes and lettuce or beets under the beans. The beans will actually make some shade for the lettuce and beets which will help to keep them cooler during the summer months. Tomatoes are too greedy so I can only plant things that are not nutrient hogs under them.

Re: Looking for DIY support for Peas and Beans

Sun May 24, 2015 5:24 am

Thank you so much for all the ideas ....and the Pictures! So nice to see what you are talking about. I like the tee pee idea for the beans I have already planted, that seems very doable. You have inspired me to use what I have and make it work. Thanks so much.